Pebble has unveiled Pebble Control, a self-contained, scalable and easy-to-configure IP connection management system built specifically to enable broadcasters to make the leap to an all-IP facility without the need to deploy a bespoke enterprise solution.

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Pebble: Pebble Connect can scale to the required size for any operation

Leveraging full support for the Networked Media Open Specifications (NMOS) suite of protocols produced by the Advanced Media Workflow Association to facilitate networked media for professional applications, Pebble Control operates on web-based UIs and has been designed to deliver benefits to even the smallest IP facility. It interfaces with NMOS-enabled devices from multiple vendors on the network and is easily reconfigurable for when interconnections change or when devices are added or removed, essentially providing plug and play capability for IP networks.

“SMPTE ST 2110 has been a game-changer for the rollout of uncompressed IP networks in broadcast and is invaluable for the way that it specifies how to transport and synchronise video, audio and ancillary data. But it doesn’t cover how devices on a network can be discovered or connected, which is where the NMOS suite comes in,” explained

Miroslav Jeras, Pebble’s CTO. “We are seeing an increasing amount of proprietary approaches in the market, but the goal has to be to make interoperability simpler rather than putting barriers in the way, which is why NMOS and Pebble Control make such a compelling argument for broadcasters looking to establish IP native workflows.”

Features of Pebble Control include full support for NMOS IS-04 v1.3, while physical and logical views make organising an IP system simple; immediate feedback from the NMOS registry means users always know when critical devices go offline. Provisioning the multicast settings for NMOS senders is said to be easily done through a responsive tabular interface. The ability to export and import configuration data means users can delegate and quickly restore settings. In addition, the ability to emulate legacy index-based matrices or routers means any IO or container can be connected using the SW-P-08 protocol.

Software panels compatible with NMOS IS-07 and third-party NMOS IS-07 hardware panels can be easily integrated to perform actions and display critical information. Pebble Connect’s own software panel provides configurable functionality and quick access to key features. Authentication and granular authorisation through attribute-based workflows means broadcasters have the flexibility to shape user access as required

Pebble Connect’s ability to run standalone, as a redundant pair, or fully distributed and with a comprehensive UI for configuration means it can scale to the required size for any operation. Pebble is additionally making deployment as easy as possible with online help and a series of tutorial videos available.

“The transition to IP is gathering pace, but there are still numerous small traps that exist for broadcasters that want to establish all-IP workflows,” says Jeras. “Pebble Control takes one of those traps off the board, and by leveraging the interoperability of the NMOS suite of open standard protocols makes uncompressed IP deployments quicker and simpler than they ever have been.”